Cooling plate injection bonding method for electric vehicle battery case frame

This application claims priority from Korean Patent Application No. 10-2023-0149892, filed on Nov. 2, 2023 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

The following description relates to a cooling plate injection bonding method, and more specifically, to a cooling plate injection bonding method for an electric vehicle battery case frame.

In a process of producing an electric vehicle battery case, a battery case frame and a cooling plate are bonded by welding as illustrated in.

Specifically, an electric vehicle battery case frame formed of an aluminum material is bonded to a cooling plate by friction stir welding (FSW).

Since a product is deformed due to a high pressure and rotation which are characteristics of the FSW during production, there are problems that dimensions of the product are incorrect due to the existing method, and a high investment cost for an FSW welding apparatus is incurred.

Accordingly, there is a need for a technology for solving the problems due to the above-described conventional technology.

Embodiments of the present invention are directed to providing a cooling plate injection bonding method capable of improving process efficiency by changing a bonding process of a battery case frame and a cooling plate in a process of producing an electric vehicle battery case frame and reducing a production cost and improving quality by improving a structure.

In one aspect of the present invention, a cooling plate injection bonding method for an electric vehicle battery case frame is a method of bonding a battery case frame and a cooling plate in a process of producing an electric vehicle battery case and includes a cooling plate preparation operation of preparing the electric vehicle battery case and the cooling plate and forming injection part fixing holes in the battery case and the cooling plate, a mold seating operation of temporarily assembling the electric vehicle battery case and the cooling plate, seating the temporarily assembled electric vehicle battery case and cooling plate in an injection mold, and forming an injection molding space communicating with the injection part fixing holes and having a predetermined volume, an injection operation of filling the injection molding space of the injection mold and the injection part fixing holes with a preset injection material, and a bonding completion operation of separating the electric vehicle battery case from the injection mold.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the cooling plate preparation operation may include a first fixing hole forming operation of forming first fixing holes recessed in the electric vehicle battery case to a predetermined depth from portions of the cooling plate in contact with the electric vehicle battery case in a vertical direction of the electric vehicle battery case and consecutively formed along an edge of an upper end surface of the electric vehicle battery case.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the cooling plate preparation operation may include a second fixing hole forming operation of forming a plurality of second fixing holes which are consecutively formed in the cooling plate in contact with an upper surface of the electric vehicle battery case at locations corresponding to the first fixing holes and spaced a predetermined interval from each other along the edge of the upper end surface of the electric vehicle battery case.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the mold seating operation may include a fixing hole aligning operation of mounting the cooling plate on the upper surface of the electric vehicle battery case, aligning locations of the first fixing holes and the second fixing holes, and fixing the first fixing holes and the second fixing holes.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the mold seating operation may include an injection mold insertion operation of seating the cooling plate and the electric vehicle battery case in the injection mold in a form in which the cooling plate surrounds the upper surface of the electric vehicle battery case and an injection mold location fixing operation of fixing a location of the injection mold such that an upper surface of the cooling plate is spaced a preset distance from an inner upper surface of the injection mold.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Moreover, terms and words used in the present specification and claims should not be interpreted as being limited to commonly used meanings or meanings in dictionaries and should be interpreted as having meanings and concepts which are consistent with the technological scope of the invention.

Throughout this specification, when a first member is referred to as being “on” a second member, the first member is in contact with the second member or a third member is interposed between the two members. Throughout this specification, when a certain part “includes” a certain component, other components are not excluded unless explicitly described otherwise, and other components may further be included therein.

In, a cooling plate injection bonding method according to one embodiment of the present invention is illustrated.

Referring to, the cooling plate injection bonding method Saccording to the present embodiment is a method of bonding a battery case frame and a cooling platein a process of producing an electric vehicle battery caseand includes a cooling plate preparation operation S, a mold seating operation S, an injection operation S, and a bonding completion operation Sin which specific processes are performed, and thus the cooling plate injection bonding method Scapable of improving process efficiency by changing a process of bonding the battery case frame and the cooling platein the process of producing the electric vehicle battery caseand reducing a production cost and improving quality by improving a structure may be provided.

Hereinafter, each operation constituting the cooling plate injection bonding method Saccording to the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In, a flowchart specifically illustrating the mold seating operation of the cooling plate injection bonding method ofis illustrated, and in, schematic views corresponding to processes are illustrated.

Referring to the drawings, in the cooling plate preparation operation Saccording to the present embodiment, a process of preparing the electric vehicle battery caseand the cooling plateand forming injection part fixing holes in the battery case and the cooling plateis performed.

Specifically, the cooling plate preparation operation Smay include a first fixing hole forming operation Sand a second fixing hole forming operation S. In the first fixing hole forming operation S, a process of forming first fixing holesrecessed in the electric vehicle battery caseto a predetermined depth from portions of the cooling platein contact with the electric vehicle battery casein a vertical direction of the electric vehicle battery caseand consecutively formed along an edge of an upper end surface of the electric vehicle battery caseis performed. In the second fixing hole forming operation S, a process of forming a plurality of second fixing holes which are consecutively formed in the cooling platein contact with an upper surface of the electric vehicle battery caseat locations corresponding to the first fixing holesand spaced a predetermined interval from each other along the edge of the upper end surface of the electric vehicle battery caseis performed.

In the mold seating operation Saccording to the present embodiment, a process of temporarily assembling the electric vehicle battery caseand the cooling plate, seating the temporarily assembled electric vehicle battery caseand cooling platein an injection mold, and forming an injection molding space communicating with the injection part fixing holes and having a predetermined volume is performed.

Specifically, the mold seating operation Saccording to the present embodiment may include a fixing hole aligning operation S, an injection mold insertion operation S, and an injection mold location fixing operation Sin which specific processes are performed. In the fixing hole aligning operation S, a process of mounting the cooling plateon the upper surface of the electric vehicle battery case, fixing the cooling plate using a fixing gapof the electric vehicle battery case, aligning locations of the first fixing holesand the second fixing holes, and fixing the first fixing holesand the second fixing holesis performed. In the injection mold insertion operation S, a process of seating the cooling plateand the electric vehicle battery casein the injection moldin a form in which the cooling platesurrounds the upper surface of the electric vehicle battery caseon which the cooling plateis mounted is performed such that the cooling plateserves as a protection cover for the upper surface of the electric vehicle battery case. In the injection mold location fixing operation S, a process of fixing a location of the injection moldsuch that an upper surface of the cooling plateis spaced a preset distance from an inner upper surface of the injection moldis performed.

In the injection operation Saccording to the present embodiment, a process of seating the cooling plateand the electric vehicle battery casein the injection moldin a form in which the cooling platesurrounds the upper surface of the electric vehicle battery caseon which the cooling plateis mounted is performed such that the cooling plateserves as a protection cover for the upper surface of the electric vehicle battery case.

In the bonding completion operation Saccording to the present embodiment, a process of separating the electric vehicle battery casefrom the injection moldis performed.

In each structure disclosed in, as an injection part protects a cooling plate, a separate under cover is not required. Conversely, in a structure disclosed in, a separate under cover which protects a cooling plateis required.

In, a cross-sectional view showing an electric vehicle battery case, a cooling plate, and an injection mold which are prepared through a cooling plate injection bonding method according to yet another embodiment of the present invention is illustrated, and in, a cross-sectional view showing a cooling plate injection bonding structure completed using the structure illustrated inis illustrated.

Referring to the drawings, an injection moldaccording to the present embodiment may have a structure surrounding both an outer circumferential surface of an electric vehicle battery caseand an outer circumferential surface of a cooling plate. In this case, an injection material injected through an injection gateof an injection moldmay be injected on the outer circumferential surface of the electric vehicle battery caseand an upper surface of the cooling plateto form a structure and fix the cooling plateto the electric vehicle battery caseat the same time.

In this case, a fixing gapfor fixing the cooling platemay be formed in a frame of the electric vehicle battery casehaving an aluminum profile structure so that the cooling plateand the frame of the electric vehicle battery casemay be stably fixed.

In this case, an injection part may surround the aluminum frame and fill an inner portion of the frame having the profile structure to improve the strength of the entire structure, prevent leakage, and secure a stable bonding state between the frames. In other words, the injection part may serve to couple the frames, serve as an under cover, and serve to couple the cooling plate.

As described above, according to a cooling plate injection bonding method Sfor an electric vehicle battery case frame of the present invention, as a cooling plate preparation operation S, a mold seating operation S, an injection operation S, and a bonding completion operation Sare provided, the cooling plate injection bonding method Scapable of improving process efficiency by changing a process of bonding the battery case frame and the cooling platein a process of producing the electric vehicle battery caseand reducing a production cost and improving quality by improving the structure can be provided.

As described above, according to a cooling plate injection bonding method for an electric vehicle battery case frame of the present invention, as a cooling plate preparation operation, a mold seating operation, an injection operation, and a bonding completion operation in which specific processes are performed are provided, the cooling plate injection bonding method capable of fundamentally preventing a problem due to welding deformation, improving process efficiency by changing a process of bonding a battery case frame and a cooling plate in a process of producing an electric vehicle battery case, and as a result, reducing a production cost and improving quality by improving a structure can be provided.

In the above detailed description of the present invention, only specific embodiments according thereto have been described. However, it should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described in the detailed description, and all changes, equivalents, and substitutes falling within the spirit and technical scope of the present invention are encompassed in the present invention.

Accordingly, the present invention is not limited to the above-described specific embodiments and descriptions and may be variously modified by those skilled in the art without departing from the gist of the invention claimed by the appended claims, and the modifications are within the scope of the claims.